


catch that feeling

by thistidalwave



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Minor Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Minor Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, or are they actually friendships also? it's open to interpretation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:47:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28074192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thistidalwave/pseuds/thistidalwave
Summary: Alex sticks his head through Julie's bedroom door.
Relationships: Alex (Julie and The Phantoms) & Julie Molina
Comments: 19
Kudos: 58
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	catch that feeling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CaptainSif](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainSif/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide, CaptainSif! I hope this isn't _too_ romance-adjacent for you and that you enjoy!
> 
> This fic is set directly after S1 ends; I've assumed Julie continues to be able to touch the band. Partially [inspired by this gifset](https://sailing-the-ships.tumblr.com/post/637268367524429824/molinajules-jatp-week-day-5-favorite), which is like saying it was inspired by every Alex&Julie moment in the show, which is also true.
> 
> Huge ty to B for making me watch this show and all the cheerleading.

Julie opens her bedroom door and barely jumps when she sees the boys sprawled across her bed, which is progress. Alex is laying on his front with his feet kicked up behind him and Reggie using his back as a pillow, while Luke sits on the edge of the bed next to him. They’re all staring straight at her.

Julie closes the door behind her and says, “What?” 

“What did Nick want?” Luke asks, standing up and taking a step toward her.

Julie holds up the flower bouquet in her hand and shrugs. “To give me flowers, I guess.” She crosses the room to put them down on her desk, and Reggie bounces up to follow her, peering at the flowers.

“Oooh, they’re nice ones. Expensive.”

Julie nods. She doesn’t know anything about flowers, but they’re definitely nice. “Yeah.”

Luke looks about as uncomfortable as Julie feels, which is both helpful and extremely not. “What did… What’d you say? About the flowers. Or whatever.”

Julie sighs. She wishes she didn’t need to have this conversation right this second; she misses when she used to be able to take a minute to absorb things when they happened instead of being grilled by ghosts immediately. “He wanted me to go on a date. I told him I’d think about it.”

Julie doesn’t miss the split-second of hurt on Luke’s face before he covers it up, and it cuts straight to her heart. “Oh,” Luke says. “Okay.”

Alex gives Julie a look that clearly says, _Are you kidding me?_ Julie shoots him one back that she hopes says, _Shut up_.

“What is there to think about?” Reggie asks. “Don’t you have a crush on him?” 

“Yeah, who wouldn’t?” Luke says. He smirks at Julie, that same spark of competition in his eye that he’d had when he was hovering around Nick at school, and Julie wants to melt into the floor.

“ _Okay_ , that’s enough asking me about my feelings!” Julie says before they start debating Nick’s qualities or something equally horrifying and unnecessary. “Can I get some space in my own bedroom now, please?”

“Yeah, we’re going,” Luke agrees. 

The boys file out through her door, and Julie has enough time to sit down on her bed with a sigh before Alex sticks his head back through it.

“They’re gone,” he says before Julie can say anything, “but, uh, you actually good? Or nah? Because, before you tell me to go away, I had a crush on the popular guy at school once, too. It didn’t end well, but I’m totally a great support system.”

Julie smiles in spite of herself. “I’m fine,” she says. “It wasn’t the first time I had to tell him no. He’s very sweet and a _bit_ persistent, so I feel bad, but it had to be said. So it’s all good.”

It sounds pretty convincing to her own ears, but Alex’s raised eyebrows seem to disagree.

“Shut up,” Julie says to them, “I’m fine! Really.”

Alex nods and stops looking like she’s lying to his face, but he doesn’t move. Julie waits. And waits. And keeps waiting.

“So… can I help you?” she asks eventually.

“Oh! Uh, no,” Alex says. He disappears through the door. Julie barely has a chance to think about lying down before he appears again. “But actually, if you’re not into Nick, then are you into…” He lets the silence hang for so long that Julie practically hears him say _Luke_ before he actually says, “someone else? Because I’m getting some vibes, and I was just wondering if you maybe, uh, wanted to talk about it.”

Julie grabs the closest pillow and throws it straight through Alex’s torso.

“Got it, got it!” Alex says, disappearing again. Julie flops down on her bed and closes her eyes.

—

The next morning, Julie is still in bed, scrolling aimlessly on her phone, when Alex sticks his head through her door again.

“Oh, good! You’re up.”

Julie doesn’t drop her phone on her face, but it’s a near thing. “Alex!”

“Sorry,” Alex says, wincing. “Can I just… come in and ask you a question real quick?”

Julie is wary, considering the uncomfortable questions Alex was asking yesterday, but… “Okay.”

Alex steps the rest of the way through the door. “Does my outfit look okay?” He does a slow spin around for her, showing off his ripped, cropped lightwash jeans and yellow pullover sweater. He sticks one foot out to show her his black low-top Chucks and then poses, one hand on his hip.

“Yeah, you look good,” Julie says truthfully. He mostly looks the same, albeit sans fanny pack for once, but that seems beside the point. “A little more this-century than usual. Why?”

“Thanks,” Alex says. “No reason!”

He steps back through the door. Julie waits, but he doesn’t come back, so she goes back to TikTok.

—

Alex sticks his head through Julie’s door an hour later, when Julie has actually gotten up and is writing what could maybe be graciously called poetry, in her opinion, on her bed. She drops the pen she’s holding when he says, “Hey Julie.”

“Alex,” she says.

“Are there any good places in LA to, like, go and skateboard around?” 

Julie blinks at him for a moment, then narrows her eyes. “Is this about skateboard Will guy who sold you out to Caleb? Are you hanging out with him?” 

Alex shrugs. “Yeah, well, he apologized for that, and he’s very nice, and I like him! And his name is Willie. I just need a place, Julie, what do you think?”

Julie trusts Alex enough to believe what he’s saying, especially when he’s not even being particularly defensive about it. Still, though, her only response is, “I don’t know anything about skateboarding, Alex.”

“Ugh.” Alex disappears back through the door, and Julie shakes her head before returning to her journal.

—

Alex’s head appears again less than an hour later, and this time Julie doesn’t jump at all. He’s wearing a different sweater now. This one is light grey, and he’s added a red and white plaid shirt underneath. Just goes to show what he thinks about her outfit appraisal skills.

“I’m freaking out, Julie,” he says immediately. Maybe less about her skills, then. “I think I’m going on a date later? But nobody said it was a date, but we also didn’t say it wasn’t a date, and also—”

Julie closes her journal with a snap. “Why don’t you come in, Alex, instead of being halfway through my door like a weirdo?” 

“Thank God,” Alex says. He flops down on the bed next to her and looks up at her through his bangs. “Help!” 

Julie looks down at him, considering. “Why are you freaking out? Just because it’s maybe a date?”

“ _Yes_!” Alex complains. “This isn’t a _just_! And don’t tell me to chill, because I can’t.”

Julie shakes her head. “I wasn’t going to,” she says honestly. “A maybe-date is pretty huge.”

“ _Thank_ you. I can’t talk about Willie to Luke and Reggie, because they always tell me to chill, and I really can’t. That’s not me.”

“I don’t think you should force yourself to be someone you’re not.” Julie worries the inside of her lip a little, thinking, then asks cautiously, “Did you, uh… date anyone before you died?” 

Alex laughs. The sound of it is sharp, and his tone is bitter when he says, “No. I really, really did not.”

Julie nods. “Did you want to?” 

Alex blows his bangs off his forehead and looks away. “Kind of. I mean, I _wanted_ a lot of things, but we were pretty busy with the band, and being gay wasn’t like… something you really talked about much, especially when you’re trying to make it big… so it was a lot easier to ignore it.”

“Easier?” Julie asks, the word slipping out almost involuntarily. It doesn’t seem like it would be easier to her.

Alex shrugs. “In some ways.”

Julie decides not to press, at least not right now. “Okay. So not a lot of experience going into this.”

“Not a lot,” Alex agrees. He grabs one of Julie’s pillows and puts it over his face. “What am I gonna _do_.”

“I don’t have any experience to help you with,” Julie says, “but I’ve watched a lot of TV, so I’ll try anyway. If you didn’t say it was a date, I think step one is finding out whether it’s a date or not.” 

“How do I do that?”

Julie pulls the pillow off Alex’s face so she can give him a look. “You ask.”

Alex glares right back at her. “ _How_?” 

Julie rolls her eyes and grabs Alex’s hand, dragging him up to sitting. “You say, ‘Hey, Willie, just so I know for sure, are we on a date right now?’ Come on, repeat it back to me.” 

Alex’s cheeks flush pink. Julie wonders how that works when ghosts don’t have blood. Or do they? “No! I’m not gonna—”

“Repeat it!” Julie insists.

Alex groans, but he steels himself and says, “Hey, Willie, uh…”

_Just so I know_ , Julie mouths at him.

“Just so I know… are we on a date? Now?” Alex covers his face with his hands. “Ugh, no! I sound stupid!”

“You don’t sound stupid, just… not confident. Which is fine! It’s kinda cute, and if I think that, he probably would, too,” Julie says. “But, like, where is Mr. Sexy Drummer Guy? Because I know he’s in there, and that’s who we need to ask this question.” 

Alex shakes his head. “He only exists when I’m _firmly_ hidden behind my drumset.”

“Maybe you could, like, envision the drums,” Julie suggests. “Think about holding your drumsticks and being a badass.”

Alex looks at her like she’s crazy.

“What? Manifest confidence! It’s a thing!”

“Sure, maybe,” Alex says doubtfully. 

“Try it,” Julie says. “What do you have to lose?” 

Alex sighs. “Okay.” His expression goes focused in a way that does sort of remind Julie of how he looks onstage. He flips his hair out of his face and smiles at her, and that’s Stage Alex all over. “Hey, Willie, just so I know, are we on a date right now?” 

Julie beams and claps. “That was so good!”

Alex grins right back, and then he looks down and the smile drops off his face. “Um,” he says, holding up his actual drumsticks, which were definitely not in his hands before and are now.

Julie can’t hold back her surprised laugh. “Oh, no.”

“Nooooo,” Alex whines. He puts his forehead on her shoulder and lets his weight fall against her. “Julieeeee.”

“It’s fine,” Julie says. “So you’re awkward and it’s cute, or you’re confident and you’re holding drumsticks, which you can totally play off, or somehow neither of those things happen. It’s whatever! You’ll get the question out.”

Alex whines wordlessly into her shoulder. Julie pats him on the back.

After a moment, Alex asks, “What if it _is_ a date?” 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what do I do if it’s a date? How am I supposed to act?” 

“Uh,” Julie says. She’s not exactly sure what the answer to that even is. How _do_ people act on dates? They do romantic things, probably. They kiss at the end of the date? That seems too obvious to say. God, Julie is not equipped for this conversation. “I’m not gonna lie, Alex, I don’t know. I think maybe… you mostly just act… normal?” 

“Normal?” Alex leans back to look at her again. “I don’t think I’ve ever once acted normal around Willie.”

“Then don’t act normal.” Julie shrugs. “And, uh, tell him he looks nice. Ask what he wants to do. Maybe you can just follow his lead.”

Alex looks thoughtful at that. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. That’s kind of what I usually do.”

“There you go,” Julie says triumphantly. “That’s your normal!” 

“Right,” Alex says. “Okay, yeah, I think I can do that.”

“Good. Besides, shouldn’t you be more worried about what to do if he says it’s _not_ a date?” Julie asks, and then she immediately regrets it. Why would she bring that up? She’s so stupid.

Surprisingly, though, Alex just gives her a half-smile and a shrug. “I’ve been there before, so… I figure I’ll just do the same thing I did then.”

“Oh,” Julie says. “Wait, you’ve asked someone if you were on a date and they said no?” 

Alex laughs. “No, I definitely didn’t ask. I just realized on my own when he started talking about a girl, you know?” 

Julie nods. “What did you do?” 

“Just kept hanging out with him and didn’t say anything.” Alex shrugs again. “I didn’t want to ruin the friendship. Or make him think I was trying to come on to him, even though I guess I was.”

Julie winces. “That’s awful.”

“It was fine. I lived through it,” Alex says. “I guess if Willie says no it’ll be a little weirder because we’ll have acknowledged it, but… I guess I can apologize and move on. Or just teleport myself into the ocean if I have to. I’m already dead, anyway.”

Julie laughs despite herself. “Maybe not into the ocean.”

Alex laughs with her. “Okay, maybe not. But still, being a ghost has its perks.”

“Yeah, no joke,” Julie says. She glances over at her desk, where the flowers Nick left are now sitting in a vase because she hadn’t had the heart to let them die faster. “I wish I could teleport away sometimes.”

Alex follows her glance and makes a sympathetic noise. “You still fine? Still don’t want to talk about it?”

Julie shrugs. She _is_ fine, mostly, except for how it’s confusing as hell to kinda sorta have a crush on a ghost that you just can’t shake, even when you have the option of dating a very cute flesh-and-blood boy. “I don’t know,” she says. “It’s not really… Nick that’s the problem.”

Alex nods. “Because it’s…” He looks at her expectantly. Julie raises her eyebrows and shakes her head slightly. Alex frowns. “What is it?”

“I think you know and you just want me to say it.”

“Yeah, because what if I’m wrong? Though I will say, I couldn’t help but notice that you told us that you told Nick you’d think about it, but then you told me that you said no.” 

Julie ignores the second part of that on principle. “I don’t think you’re wrong.”

“So…”

Julie huffs. “Fine, Luke is the problem. Happy?” She half expects Luke to appear out of nowhere at the sound of his name, and a thought occurs to her. “Hold on, was this all a ploy just to get me to tell you I have a crush on Luke? Because I don’t even know if that’s true! You’re not going to report whatever I say back to him, are you?”

“No!” Alex protests. “No, Julie, come on, we’re friends, aren’t we?”

Julie immediately feels bad. This is _Alex_ , after all, who has never hesitated to offer her an apology or a hug or a dose of heartfelt real talk when it was needed. He’s the one who lets her be a mess because he knows what it’s like to be a mess, too, which means he also knows when she’s taking it too far and can pull her back without judgment. 

“Yeah,” she says, “we’re friends. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Alex says easily. “I promise I’ll keep this whole conversation to myself. You can tell me whatever you want. Why is having a crush on Luke a problem? Because I really don’t think I’m betraying anyone when I say I don’t think that’s just you.” 

“He told you that?” Julie asks, unable to help herself.

“He didn’t have to.”

That’s not a real answer, but Julie lets it go. “I said I didn’t know if I have a crush on him.”

“Okay… well, as an outsider, my guess is yes,” Alex says. “But that doesn’t mean I actually know what’s going on in your head. What _is_ going on in your head?” 

“I don’t know,” Julie says. It comes out way more whiny than she’d intended it to. She sticks her tongue out in response to the amused look Alex gives her. “Luke just… he makes me happy. But all of you make me happy! So does Flynn! I don’t know if that’s _really_ a crush or not. I thought it was at first, though, so maybe I’m just… overthinking it now.”

Alex nods thoughtfully. “I think I know what you mean. It can be kind of hard to figure out where the lines between different kinds of love are, right?”

Julie nods, relieved that he managed to put it into words so she didn’t have to.

“So why does Luke make you happy?”

“What?”

“We all make you happy, but we must do it in different ways, right? How does Luke do it?” 

Julie thinks about it. She looks down at the journal that’s still sitting in her lap, and then she can’t really think about anything else. “Um… we just… when we write together, it’s… nobody gets me the way he does.”

“So it’s just about writing music?”

“No!” Julie protests, then deflates. “I don’t know.”

Alex hums. “I don’t think it’s bad if it is. You two create really beautiful things together. It’s kind of… fated that you’d both be here. At least, Luke would say so, and I agree. We’re all here for a reason, you know?” 

“You think?” 

“Yeah,” Alex says firmly. “We need each other. It means something that we can all touch, don’t you think? And I think that’s more important, in a way, than whether or not you actually have a crush. Like, that’s just a potential word for whatever really special thing you and Luke obviously have. And without you and Luke, we don’t have any music to play, so…”

“Yeah,” Julie says softly. “You’re right.” 

“So… you gonna tell him you like him?” 

“No! I don’t know.” 

“Not to be all ‘I’m dead so I know things’, but. I’m dead and I kinda think you shouldn’t waste time.”

“But… Luke is also… not alive. It’s not as if we can have a future.” 

“Sure, but like, I mean, he’s here now. Just because it’s temporary doesn’t mean it’s bad or that you shouldn’t do it.”

Julie furrows her eyebrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“I dunno…” Alex trails off, obviously thinking, and Julie lets him. Eventually, he says, “I just think… I had some really good times when I was alive. And some, y’know, bad ones, but that’s not the point. The point is that the good ones are still good even though they’re over. And what we’re doing right now, it’s not nothing just because I know it has to end and we have to move on someday. So I just think, like, as long as you and Luke are both honest, you could have something meaningful. It doesn’t have to look like what other people would expect from romance. It doesn’t even have to be romantic.” He looks up at Julie. “Am I making literally any sense right now?”

“Surprisingly, yeah,” Julie says. “Being dead really gives you some wicked wisdom. Congrats on that.”

Alex laughs. “Thanks.” 

“Can I ask you a question?”

Alex gestures for her to go ahead.

“How did you know you like Willie? Or that other guy you liked, when you were alive? Wait, was that guy that you weren’t on a date with… the popular guy you had a crush on in school?” 

Alex ducks his head a little. “Ah, no,” he says. “The popular guy was Luke.” 

Julie stares.

“I told you I understood.”

“I don’t know why I’m surprised, exactly,” Julie says slowly, “but I am. You liked Luke? In school? Wait, but you said that ended badly.”

“Liked him enough to join his band and follow him around, yeah,” Alex says. “And then I died, which was the bad part.”

“Oh… right.”

Alex smiles gently at her. “So to answer your question about how I know I have a crush, I just kinda do. I want to be with them literally all the time, think they’re hot, want to kiss them a lot...” He gives Julie a sideways look, and Julie sees the question coming before it hits. “Do you want to kiss Luke?” 

“Maybe!” Julie says, so high-pitched she knows it isn’t fooling anyone. She doesn’t mind.

Alex grins at her. “Don’t worry, I get it.” 

“Apparently,” Julie says. “You don’t still—”

“Nah,” Alex says. “Not as a rule.”

“Huh,” Julie says. “Interesting.” 

Alex shrugs. “What time is it?” 

Julie wakes up her phone and reads the time for him. 

“I’d better go to that date or possibly not a date,” Alex says. “Unless you still wanna talk. I’ve got a bit more time before I’ll be late, it’s not a big deal.”

“No, no,” Julie says, lightly whacking him in the shoulder. “Go! Come back and tell me how it went after. I’m just gonna be here trying to write.”

“Okay, okay.” Alex gets to his feet. He hovers for a second, then adds, “You know, Luke is just gonna be in the studio all day… you could go talk to him.”

Julie makes a face. “Maybe.”

“I’ll even tell Reggie to clear out.”

“Urgh, no, don’t! I don’t want to be obvious.”

Alex puts a hand on his chest. “It hurts me that you think I would ever be less than subtle.”

Julie snorts. “Okay, Alex, sure. Go on your date! Have fun.”

“I’m going!”

“Byeeee.”

“Bye!” Alex waves and steps through her door. 

—

A minute later, Alex sticks his head through Julie’s door. Julie is already standing by her bed, midway through taking a step toward the door.

“Hey, I just wanted to—were you coming after me?” 

Julie shrugs, even though she totally was.

“Uh huh,” Alex says. “I came back to say thank you.”

Julie spreads her arms for a hug. “So say it.”

Alex walks into them easily, bending down so he can bury his face in Julie’s neck. Julie squeezes him hard. “Thanks, Julie,” he murmurs against her skin. “This really helped.”

“Same,” Julie says. “You’re a great friend, Alex. I’m so glad we’re fated or whatever.”

“Oh, stop,” Alex says, but she can feel him smiling. “It’s because of you that Mr. Sexy Drummer Guy is going to kill this maybe-date.”

“You’re gonna call yourself that forever now, aren’t you?”

“Oh yeah,” Alex confirms. “Totally.”

Julie laughs and holds onto him for another minute. It’s maybe a little long for a thank you hug, but if you’re not allowed to hug your friend for too long after he basically said you’re meant to be, when are you? 


End file.
